Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plastic technology company specializing in the development and construction of injection molding machines, solutions are mainly used in the automotive industry, household appliances and the PC industry. MHIPT company for its latest MEIII machine series has chosen Beckhoff PC-based control technology. In addition to improving Repeatability and production flexibility, MHIPT also considers simplifying the integration of condition monitoring capabilities and implementing predictive maintenance, which is an important step forward.
Open automation platform brings competitive advantage
The MEIII is a newly developed MHIPT medium-sized injection molding machine with a clamping force ranging from 550 to 850 tons. Most injection molding machines are equipped with hydraulic actuators and the drive control in the MEIII is achieved with servomotors. MHIPT Engineering Director Takashi Mizuno, CEO and CEO, said: "In terms of automation technology, MHIPT has changed the way it developed the MEIII machine range it used to." Previously, we developed our controller entirely on our own, and using a PC control system enabled us to Our focus is on software development, and our goal is to stand out in the fierce competition by incorporating all the know-how our company has accumulated in injection molding machines into injection molding software. '
Like the previous MEII series, the MEIII series is equipped with MHIPT's self-developed DD (direct drive) motors, which do not require gearheads because they can generate high forces at low speeds; this provides the advantage of dynamic injection drive, Making maintenance much easier as no pulleys, conveyors and other consumable materials are required The design features of the MEIII series are that it replaces the mechanical linkage between two direct-drive motors with high-precision software synchronization. "The servo-electric control system The speed, reliability and accuracy directly determine the quality of the product, "emphasizes Takashi Mizuno.
Open control technology: Independent of supplier-specific standards and codes
Takashi Takiiad, Design Director for MHIPT Engineering and Director of MEIII Development, explains: "One of the biggest advantages of the openness of the control architecture is that we and our customers can be independent of vendor-specific standards or specifications. The PC-based control system is a highly efficient The open control system, combined with its high level of flexibility and versatility, gives us the reliability and quality we need. '
High efficiency in machine development
Due to the flexibility and scalability of the PC control platform, MHIPT is able to offer its customers about 200 optional sizes to use different tools or molds to achieve the geometry of the plastic part to be produced. "This is probably a tradition Three times the number of control system options.The specifications that were previously available at an extra cost to provide now are available to our customers at standard pricing and delivery times.Otherwise, the use of open standards gives us enough flexibility to satisfy our customers Requirements for Sensors and Servo Motors By using EtherCAT and TwinCAT as a common communication system and as a common software platform, a unified data flow can be achieved, greatly improving machine operation repeatability, "explains Takashi Takii.
'In short, the efficiency of machine engineering has been greatly improved by using the PC platform,' said Takashi Takii. "The use of distributed I / O stations that communicate via EtherCAT simplifies the modular design of control cabinets and increases flexibility Advantages - eg temporary modifications and shortening of the machine's manufacture, disassembly, transport and installation time The high degree of scalability of the PC control platform ultimately enables the use of a PC-based central control system to control the size and application areas The same multiple injection molding machine.The MHIPT machine software needs to manage more than 30,000 data points for versatility and flexibility in injection molding applications. MHIPT uses Oracle Database Key Software to configure the configuration. "The required database tightness can not be matched with the tools provided by traditional control system vendors. 'Explains Takashi Takii.' For us, TwinCAT's seamless connection is a huge step toward fully automated or semi-automatic software configuration. In addition, online debugging tools, oscilloscope software and other development tools provide valuable functionality '
Open control architecture to help realize the new business model
Takashi Takii has also seen the potential business benefits that a PC-based control architecture can bring. "Large injection molding machines are a typical example in small and high volume production and are almost equivalent to special machine manufacturing. Our ideal solution is to satisfy each and every one of our customers Requirements Conventional control techniques often limit us, and MEIII controllers use efficient and flexible software development. The different options for injection molding process can be automated using software without programming, and I can confidently say that the software design has been improved The satisfaction of our customers, the magic triangle of quality, cost and time has taken a leap forward.
Prepare for Industry 4.0
Takashi Takii also sees the benefits of an open control architecture for current manufacturing trends. "The open and flexible flow of data through EtherCAT and TwinCAT is not limited to individual injection molding machines, but it also enables factory-wide data Flow modularity and homogeneity so that we can provide highly responsive support for the technical goals set by Industry 4.0 in Germany and the Industrial Internet of Things in the United States (IIoT), "Takashi Takii concluded, summarizing his strategy for the future.